That’s what the Germans call their lack of children here. And with children comprising only 16.5 percent of the total population Germany now has the fewest number of children in all of zee Europe.
And the same report gives child poverty a whole new meaning here, too. It shows that one out of six of these rare creatures is threatened with real poverty.
I don’t know what any of this means. I suppose that Germans just prefer to spend more time with themselves and need to concentrate more on self-discovery and individual fulfillment. And to take themselves more seriously. Than they already are doing, I mean. And that is no laughing matter, believe me. So that makes this place certainly not the kind of place where you would want to raise your kids.
Vor zehn Jahren lag der Kinderanteil bei 18,8 Prozent, jetzt bei 16,5 Prozent, 2030 werden es voraussichtlich nur noch 15 Prozent sein.
Observing Hermann 
ad 1) the %age was stated to be of the German population. The proportion of children amongst immigrants is higher, afaik.
ad 2) look at how ‘poverty’ is defined. It’s a relative thing.
You’ll end up with another Japan, where the average age of a farmer is in the mid-sixties, and people end up working until they’re no longer physically able, and will likely be crated up in some sort of group environment because the kid(s) they never had won’t be there for them. You’ve come a long way, baby!
Call it the apex of western social policy, if you will: population control and women-putting-work-before-real-life in practice. The ones that DID have that “one precious child” in their early 40s will find their spawn unable to deal with the issue of caring for aging parent(s) at an early age and on their own. Odds on, spawn will find themselves having to do this with both parents who are statistically likely to be divorced.
Then you’ll see just how *political* the *personal* can really get.